


Allison Argent: Femininity and Violence

by dirgewithoutmusic



Series: the girl who runs with wolves [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: BAMF Allison Argent, Gen, Random & Short, Women Being Awesome, Women In Power
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-25
Updated: 2014-02-25
Packaged: 2018-01-13 17:42:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1235365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dirgewithoutmusic/pseuds/dirgewithoutmusic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a random collection of excited short essays about Allison Argent's darkness and light, power and love, fragility and ferocity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Loved and Lied to

Remember: the only person who has reliably told Allison the truth and treated her as though she owned some kind of power and agency was  _Kate_. 

Scott loves her and lies to her. Her dad loves her and lies to her. Gerard pretends to empower her until he reveals his true ambitions. Lydia knows nothing, until Peter ‘creepywolf’ Hale starts living in her head, and then she spikes the punch (Lydia’s isolation and Lydia’s darkness are another fascinating thing entirely). Her mom loves her, and lies to her, and doesn’t even say good-bye.

Allison Argent is loved. There are people loyal to her on all sides of this war. She is the princess, the damsel in the tower, distressed and protected. And I love how the narrative establishes that this is not enough. This is damaging. Allison does not want to be rescued.

Allison Argent is a warrior. She is confused. She is lied to and manipulated, consistently and constantly. She does terrible things. And I love how the narrative sets up her dark Fall as the awful consequence of her being treated as these stories about superheroes so often treat the women they love.


	2. A Balancing Act: didn't she take gymnastics once?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written between the S2/S3 break.

Allison’s balance of femininity, ruthless violence, and both victimhood and power was one of the most fascinating things in Teen Wolf. I’m really hoping S3 sees a focus on her continued journey to both redemption and honest empowerment.

Nearly all of the individuals who have empowered her in a physical or emotional sphere have been liars and villains (re: Kate, Gerard). Scott and Chris both protect and often attempt to make decisions for her, to everyone’s detriment (their well-meaning condescension led directly to her Fall).

One of the most promising movements of S2, in terms of Allison, was the final scene with her and Scott. She’s grown enough to know she needs independence and an opportunity to discover and define herself outside of the frame of her family’s crusade or Scott’s love. And Scott has grown enough to realize he needs to respect her decisions and power; and the kid backs off and says he’ll be there when she needs him.

I want to see Allison redeemed—but I also would love to see her celebrate the darkness inside of her. Her ability for ruthlessness does not make her Kate. Her femininity does not make her Lydia, the eternal victim (Lydia’s victimizing and my deep and terrible desire to put her+broadsword in a room with Peter Hale is a different essay….). Her belief in her own lack of power, and the way she throughout the seasons seeks it from others (Scott, Kate, Gerard, Chris) rather than herself  _does_  make her a mirror for Erica, who joined Derek’s doomed pack.

Allison spends much of S1 and S2 equating strength with hardness. She tries Kate’s flippant loss of empathy, Chris’s loyal devotion to the Code, her mother’s cold-hearted, ruthless leadership. And she fails to both properly emulate them, and also to achieve her goal of strength.

Allison’s kindness and her empathy do not make her weak. I am hoping S3 is building up to this realization. I want her to realize that they make her flexible and strong. I want her to realize that it is those stereotypically “feminine” traits that will stop her from shattering the way Mama Argent, who greatly lacked them, did.

If the Argent women are as Chris says not the soldiers but the generals (the alphas— _oh_ there are some comparisons there), then when Allison comes into her own (and I so hope she will) it will be on the strength of both her darkness and her compassion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted here: http://ink-splotch.tumblr.com/post/47051360348/allisons-balance-of-femininity-ruthless

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted here: http://ink-splotch.tumblr.com/post/42210125662/i-trust-you-scott-more-than-anyone


End file.
